This the 2014 Ford Focus facelift, revealed in full glory ahead of its public debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. It’s quite a major update, this. New look on the outside, improved interior, upgraded engine lineup, new technologies and even better handling, this facelift offers enhancements on all fronts.
First up, the looks. The Focus now gets the Aston Martin-inspired front end that has graced the Fiesta and upcoming Mondeo/Fusion. This is part of the One Ford global design language, so like it or not, you’ll see more of this in future Fords. Though less dramatically updated, the rear end has a new bumper and slightly thinner tail lamps.
Customer feedback, i.e. complaints, has forced Ford to finally overhaul the original Focus Mk3’s complicated interior. The new cabin now features a much simpler and cleaner centre console, with a larger SYNC 2 touch-screen display now taking charge of most major controls.
Revisions include the handbrake being relocated off the centre console, which now has a narrower profile and more uniform look compared to the pre-facelift. The 12V socket has been relocated, now placed forward of the gearshift, and in keeping with the new slimmer profile, the exposed wide-position dual cupholders of the original C346 have been replaced by a more streamlined tray, in which the cupholders are now positioned fore-aft, complete with a sliding cover. Better insulation and thicker windows result in a quieter ride for all too.
Handling, which has long been the Focus’ forte, has been improved again in this facelift. You can thank the fine-handling Volkswagen Golf Mk7 for this change. “We want our handling crown back, that’s why our engineers put a lot of effort into revamping the Focus chassis,” Ford officials have claimed.
Ford claims to offer enhanced body control and steering feel through new suspension geometry and dampers and retuned Electric Power Steering. Expect a much improved ride and handling package this time around, paired to a reprogrammed Electronic Stability Programme that is less intrusive than before.
On the technology front, the Focus’ Active Park Assist feature now supports reverse perpendicular parking, as well as Park-Out Assist to help drivers exit a parallel parking space. The Active City Stop collision avoidance system now operates at speeds of up to 50 km/h, up from 30 km/h in the current version.
An interesting addition is Ford’s MyKey technology. This enables owners, or parents, if you like, to programme a key for younger drivers that restricts the top speed, reduces the maximum volume of the audio system, and can disable the vehicle altogether if driver and passengers are not using safety belts. Big Brother indeed.
Under the hood, there’s a choice of six engines, the best of which carries a 19% improvement over the model it replaces. Joining the standard 1.6 litre TI-VCT (85/105/125 PS) and 1.0 litre EcoBoost (100/125 PS) petrol range is the new 1.5 litre EcoBoost engine, offered in either 150 PS or 180 PS tune.
Only the naturally-aspirated petrol engine can be paired to a PowerShift dual-clutch gearbox, while the rest can only be had with five- or six-speed manuals and conventional six-speed automatic transmissions. Two-pedal versions will also get paddle shifters, replacing the clunky rocker switch-based manual override function in the old car.
The diesel range includes a special 1.5 litre ECOnetic variant with 105 PS, as well as the usual lineup of 1.5 (120 PS), 1.6 (95/ 115 PS) and 2.0 litre (150 PS) TDCi models. Naturally, the CO2 emission levels have dropped across the whole Focus range, and a zero-emissions option is also offered by the 145 PS Focus Electric.
Only the Europe-bound five-door hatchback and estate bodystyles of the 2014 Ford Focus facelift have been unveiled so far. The updated four-door sedan and high-performance Focus ST variants will be shown at a later date.
Now this, is what you’d call a facelift. Right, folks?
gotta say, I prefer that large front grill in focus facelift than fiesta facelift.
The estate is nice…form certain angle the body does resemble honda stream but better looking…
Suddenly the Proton Suprima looks aging and outdated already…
it’s never young to begin with. fuglier than preve.
Look like Mitsu Attrage Grill..lol
Uuwww… He look SAD!! :( the grille almost look like a Hailat-Face.. very sad one.
Now they have removed the ‘tits’ off the bonnet!
They should have done this with face-lift Fiesta too
Wondering when this will available in Malaysia and how much it will cost. After sales service still a big concern on buying ford. Sime Darby, please improve. Im waiting for more 3S center in Malaysia.
couldn’t agree more. More 3S centers would be easier for me to service my car.
Sime Darby is multi purpose car distributor (selling different car brands), don’t expect them to be good in providing very good services compare to distributor who only sell one brand.
Agreed! My car has faulty airconditioning…i have reported in Sept 2013, as of now, after 7 visits, they are still ‘investigating’ and claim that they have not encountered this problem before. When under warranty, die die also they wont change the parts….make u run around! good car, effed up service
Looks good, but for the love of god Ford please remove that stupid manual shift plus minus thumb button, replace it with either flaps or something.
Also the shifter’s button that pinches my finger :(, remove that too please.
Two-pedal versions will also get paddle shifters, replacing the clunky rocker switch-based manual override function in the old car.
6 speed manual gearbox for Malaysian Market please!!
indeed true, cant find a decent manual 2.0 liter c segment car in MY, accept those turbo variant…..hope can reduce the price around 110k for 2.0 liter manual variant for Focus hatch back….becos coming Mazda 3 hatchback price is definite wow factor…
finally i found someone who wants a C segment Manual, the only option currently is Inspira 1.8, or Hyundai Elantra. if they are able to bring in full spec manual then it would be a huge delight.
totally agree with wilson’s comment. manual drivers in kl have suffered silently for far too long. pls bring in at least 1 manual spec.
I’m looking forward to see this Focus in metal.
2013 Focus was my other choice when I cancelled my Mazda3.
I went for a test drive and it does have good handling and lots of gadgets. Yet the interior is busy and cramped. Hopefully they’ll fix that. I see cleaner lines from the pic, how about space? especially for the rear occupant.
Will we get this update soon? Probably end of this year or next year? Thanks.
Thailand will introduce it by the end of the year. SD still has to sell all the committed volume for the old model and will drag the introduction of the new model to late next year.
The removal of the gloss black from the center dash makes the interior look downgraded
Looks much better now. But…FIX THE TRANSMISSION first la. Why not overhaul the transmission also.
Eh, most variants using torque converters now.
Did u read the article?
really good looking car and a neat interior too.
This look very2 good. Wow.. bring it here.. price it nicely. . I may consider.. driven this car dy.. handling very good.
meraban :)
Is the 2.0l still in the line up? I really, really hope we get the 1.5l EcoBoost
EcoBoost is great, Powershift is not.
Hope they rectify the widespread DCT transmission issues or change the transmission type altogether. We want a trouble free car that could last at least 10 years.
you should have read the story properly. its bloody awesome news.
only the 1.6 normally aspirated engine still uses the powershift gearbox.
the rest all went back to 6 speed auto like the one in the Kuga!
Finally! I actually did read the story and noticed the news, but I thought it was wrongly reported or what.
A bold move indeed. And a great one by listening to the gripes of its owners.
Wonder if Ford managed to address the cramped rear seat space issue with this facelift.
I think that will be quite hard… the overall shape remains the same, at most they might have lowered the rear or something…
There should be a system where if wanna change lane on highway and didnt turn their indicator, the steering shouldt work >:)
Sometimes technology do helps but just wondering if at a moment of driving someting just fall infront of your car or a stupid cow just came dashing towards you. Your reflect in split second will swing your stering just to avoid the cow. Suddenly its either you or the cow or both will be the dead meat just because you didn’t turn the indicator in time…
looks much better..
the interior is an improvement.
emmm.. will the facelift ST be even better ..
When Sime Darby launch this killer in Malaysia,the rubbish altis can bungkus already.
Rear leg room apart (n maybe RV), Altis is no where near to Focus. Give it a try to own one and you will never wanna go back to sushi…
any focus 2013 owners? was confuse with it’s transmission(eg, faults) or when overtaking, no responses ? Did they fix that problem already?
Paddle shift please…
very nice interior, dashboard and all others panel looks awesome. more over Ford’s MyKey technology(restricts the top speed), good safety feature for young aggressive driver. never heard from other maker.
“An interesting addition is Ford’s MyKey technology. This enables owners, or parents, if you like, to programme a key for younger drivers that restricts the top speed, reduces the maximum volume of the audio system, and can disable the vehicle altogether if driver and passengers are not using safety belts. Big Brother indeed.”
Until the teenager figures out he can reset the entire car if he disconnects the car battery for a while?
I don’t know of any maker here that does it, but it’s not a new feature. It’s called ‘valet mode’, some higher-end cars have it. It allows the valet to drive, but limited top speed and max driving range, and you can’t access the boot, I believe.
“Only the naturally-aspirated petrol engine can be paired to a PowerShift dual-clutch gearbox.” So this means only the 1.6 N/A version will get the dual-clutch gearbox. And by the looks of it the 2.0N/A version is no longer available. So the version we will get should be one of the ecoboosts as the range-topper and the 1.6N/A version as the entry-level? I personally does not own a ford with Dual-clutch, is it that unreliable?
fyi 2.0 gdi focus never exist in europe..only in america and asia… so dont put your hope up yet, coz our focus come from thailand Ford Auto Alliance Factory. unless that news come from america/thailand..
Focus with 2.0 GDi EcoBoost is Focus ST liao lor, different class liao, one of the hot hatch out there.
As for the PowerShift DCT, if wet clutch still ok, so far so good, no problem…. PowerShift for Focus & Fiesta is a dry clutch DCT
curent focus is awesome to drive…really good…bt interior is kinda tight…
Sure, there is a big screen and Sync 2.0. Everybody know everything changes when the cars reaches our shores. All we get are small little screens with cluttered buttons everywhere, and fugly interior color combinations.
Ford is dumping Microsoft Sync from their future cars and moving to QNX (now owned by Blackberry). I would prefer they just include GPS & Navigation like they have in their European models. Sync 2.0 is buggy and incompatible with a lot of devices.
Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-22/ford-said-to-swap-blackberry-s-qnx-for-microsoft-in-sync-system.html
can wait to see this in local showrooms.
Mazda 3 is very sexy than this one but its price is way out of the range.
the face on the facelifted model is way better looking than the previous one. good job!
tis is looking alot better , sleeker too , n the interior looks slimmer dy ~ nice
Pls avoid buying a Ford with the powershift DCT gearbox.
My Fiesta has been in and out of SDAC service center due to the DCT issues. Changed the clutch twice due to shuddering and jerking on 1st and 2nd gear.
Clutch warranty claim from SDAC is not as easy as it seems. Minor jerking they won’t change the clutch for you.
Thx for your reminder. .. I ll stick to japs milo tin CVT…
my fiesta one time change clutch (preventive change – gearbox oil seal start leak) and almost 2 years after still smooth no jerk.
u sir got a lemon technician install a lemon clutch
It’s a FULL model change for Japanese already!!!! Well done!
Please la FORD, give the customer a chance to buy M/T focus!
M/T pls, dont neglect the minorities.
Yep..preferred the M/T focus. 6 Trans right,the soul wanna well-synchronize to the engine.
Wow.. the estate version is very nice. I hope that it will make it to our shore. Please Sime darby, dont be a fool and bring it in
my New Focus….stuck in traffic jam…n i got the engine overheat alarm….=_=”
i have to stop by n wait to cool down.
I owned a ford focus and I am very proud of it.
dear Hafriz Shah, its not “Aston Martin-inspired front end”, its the old Focus trapezoid grill which was at the lower end of the bumper, now brought up.
It’s the Fusion-y look. Thumbs up!
Maybe the estate version is your choice if you have issue with the rear legroom.
After all the Focus came from a hatchback that is awesome to drive and to drool at.
like very much but by time comes to Malaysia new gen will be out. please bring in fast and lower prices to be competitive. improve service cemtres too
nice. hope it comes to malaysia.
mondeo any updates like these? i mean suspension and sync 2.
knowing malaysia, probably bring in outdated models to clear stock. forever a generation behind others yet expensive.
my 2013 ford focus has reached 20,500km++. it has been nice to me. so far i have no problem when i want to over take the car. crusing on the highway at 150 is very enjoyable. yes the rear seat is not so spacious but the handling is great and better than toyota altis and civic (both 2013) which i tested. in term of fuel consumption, full tank (rm95), will put the meter in the middle if i drive from bangi to Jb at 130km/h. i did have air-conditioning problem before the first service and the SDAC fixed it and so far no problem. just wanna share the experiences.
1.5l ecoboost engine with m/t pls, else no money for you.